Automobile heater



Ju1y24, 192s. E t 1,678,567

- H. L. HUBBARD AUTOMOBILE HEATER Filed Feb. 8, 1925 l', il llllllllll VENTOR I 514141.101111(444M11affeefneaafeffnlnreefelef A I ORN EYS Patented July 24, 19.28.

Aral-'78,567

PATENT. .fori-ica HENRY L. HUEBARD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

AUTOMOBILE HEATER.

Application led Iie'nruaryv My Apresent invention relates generally to automobile heaters, and more particularly to that type of heater wherein the heating elements are disposed below a grate in the bottom of an automobile, and in which the heating elements, usually heat radiating 'tubes andv the like, are fed through an adjacent valve structure from the exhaust pipe. Heaters of the'above type commonly inlo clude a pan which extends beneath the heating tu-bes or other elements below the grate, and great disadvantage has been experienced due to the fact that dirt and foreign matter of various character finds its way down 15 through the grate and into the pan with' no meansof clearing the pan of such dirt and accumulations except by removing the pan. 'Another disadvantage of the type of heater fed from the exhaust pipe, is the' susceptibility toleakage, and it is a primary object llustrating the practical application ofmy sections taken respectivelyon lines 2-.2 and` 3 3 of Fig. 1;-

Figure 4'is a horizontal section taken substantially on line f-fl'of Fig. 2, and,

Figure 5 is a detail` vertical section through a portion of the valve adjusting connection.l

Referring now to these figures, and pary ticu'larly to Fig. 1,' I have shown certain portions of an automobile, including' amfloor 10, and an exhaust pipe 11'below the floor, thelatter of which is apertured as indicated at 12, in Fig. V2, within a valve casing which surrounds the same and encloses a valve 14 controlled in accordance with Inyinvention by virtue of its external adjusting lever 15 shifted in one directionl by virtue of a spring- 16. Rising from the valve casing"13 is a 50..' flexible pipe 17 whose lowerend is secured in a permanent non-leaking manner, as by means of solder and the like, to the upstanding neck 18 'of the valve casing, and whose upper end is similarly connectedin a permanent non-leaking manner, as by means of solder within the lower end of a tubular Inthe accompanying drawing which illuss, 192s. sem-Laino. 86,886.-

ofheating elements including parallel tubes` 22, preferably provided with heat radiating members, as for instance the cirou1ar`fins23. These heating tubes extend at one end from a header24, 1n the lower portion of the 'latter of which approximately at its center, is

an inlet opening 25. VThis header 24 is also preferably provided across its top with heating radiating ribs, and with a depending boss 27 around the lower portion of its lower opening, and the header is also provided therein with webs or baie. plates 28 depending-from the top thereof between the adjacent ends of the several heating tubes 22,

so-as to divide the hotgases rising into the header and insure substantially. equal" dis-` tribution of the same to theheating,tubes. At their opposite ends, the tubes 22 may outlet in any suitable manner as for 'instance by casting the same integra-l with an outlet header 22, as shownV in .Figure4, vhaving an exhaustoutlet pipe 22b leading therefrom.

`As the .hot gases rise in the flexible pipe 17,v i

the same will be discharged directly upward and againstthe top wall of the central portion of the header 24, and will bank up within this portion of the latter in a manner to cause a backpressu're tending toforce relatively large proportions of the hot gases under the lower edgesl of the webs or battles 28 for a more equal distribution of the hot gases to all of the several compartments o f the header 24, and consequently to the sev=.

eral heating tubes 22.

`Secured with its upper surrounding edge beneath the anchoredand surrounding edge of the grate 21, is a pan 30, which extends K beneath the several heatingjtubes 2 2, and the header 24, and is pierced at one side in ahnement with the lower opening 25 of the header, and the depending tubular fitting- 19, the flange 2O of the latter being securely fastened to the lower boss 27 of the header by clamping screws 3 1, at -spaced points ,i

around the -iiange soas to thus completea non-leaking joint between the header j24: and the tubular "fitting 19,' through that portion j around its bef ered'- by a drop door 32 which is hinged at one side to the pan as at 33, so that its free edge may bedropped -rom the normal horizontal position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to the vertical open osition shown in dotted lines in the same Egure. hinged side the drop door 32 hasl a curved arm 34 normally upstanding within the pan and to which one end of a Bowden cable 35y is attached. This cable 35 passes across the dropv door and upwardly within one side of the pan, through a curved Vguide tube 35, and the upper end of the cable is secured to a handle or knob- 36 normally disposed within a recess in the surface of the grate 21, so that the handle or knob 36 is, in its lower position, this being the normal position. with the drop door 32 closed, flush with the surface of the grate so as not to interfere with the passengers within the vehicle. It is obviously only nceesary to grasp the knob or handle 36 and pull the same upwardlyvin order to swing the door to its lower Vertical open position, the door being normally held in closed position by flat springs 37.

The handle 15 of the valve, ,which as above stated is moved in one direction by the spring 16,y is likewise connected at its free end to one end of a Bowden cable 38 extending through a guide tube 39 and upwardly through a floor' plate 40, that portion of the wire extendingT through floor plate 4() being threaded for the reception of a nut 41, adjustable on the wire cable and adapted to rest on the floor plate 40 to control the position of the Valve 14. The upper extremity of this cable 38 has a knob or head 42, and this valve control is. as shown in Figure 1, preferably located immediately adjacent to the seat 43 of the vehicle so as to be as nearly out of the way as possible.

It is obvious from the foregoing that by Adjacent to its Aalso obvious that by the utilization of the flexible upright tube 17 whose`ends may be permanently connected in a non-leaking manner to the tubular fitting 19 of the valve casing 13, as well 'as the connection of the upper flanged end of the litting' 19 through the pan 30 with the lower bodies of the header, I provide against all danger of leaks, one of the greatest disadvantages of all heaters utilizing as a heating medium, the exhaust gases of the automobile engine'. It is also obvious that by virtue of the means provided by my invention for the adjustment of the valve14', the degree of heat may bereadily controlled and easily main-v tained at the desired regulation.

An automobile heater including an upper grate, heating elements below the grate'inclucling a series of tubes, a header with Awhich the tubes communicate at one end,

having a lower intake opening, a pipe for supplying heated gases having connection with the lower opening of the header, and a series of baille members depending in the header and converging toward its intake opening from points between the several heating tubes, whereby to insure vsubstantially uniform distribution of the heat to the .said tubes.

HENRY L. HUBBARD. 

